


Sleep for days

by megyal



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Future, M/M, m - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-06-09
Updated: 2009-06-09
Packaged: 2017-10-23 05:17:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,550
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/246670
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/megyal/pseuds/megyal
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In the future, Ministry Agents mix nanotechnology with magic.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Sleep for days

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by 'Ghost in the Shell'. If you don't know much about that anime/manga, a character commonly called the Major is so kick-ass; she is _bionically specialized for her job — her body is almost completely mechanized; only her brain and a segment of her spinal cord remain organic_. I was thinking that since wizards lived so long, they might see more of the… future. *facepalm* I don't even know. So it's like magic and robots, cool?
> 
> The title is from a Cobra Starship song, "One Day, Robots Will Cry".

Harry pressed back and kept very quiet, watching carefully as the large group of young people slunk past his position, unaware of his presence. Most of them had their hair shorn; he noted the smooth, strangely vulnerable curves of their heads and the bar-code tattoos at the nape of their necks when they removed their cowls and stepped through the brick wall at the very end of the alley. Some of the new ones gasped in surprise when their more experienced companions disappeared right through the wall. Harry rolled his eyes; it was just a simple illusion. Any first-level MAGE agent could pull one out of their right nostril.

 _Have you spotted our target as yet_ , a crisp voice floated through his mind. Harry shook his head. _Are you_ shaking _your head, Agent Potter? I can't see when you do such things, as you well know._

 _No_ , Harry sent back with the mental equivalent of a withering tone. _No, I haven't seen her as yet._

 _Do hop to. I've got quite a busy night later, and this is upsetting all my carefully laid plans._

 _Come on, Agent Malfoy_ , Harry sent as he began to make his way towards the end of the alley, the nanos in his suit working feverishly to match the crumbling brick-wall, camouflaging him almost completely. _You aren't talking about an actual date, are you?_ He concentrated as he gazed at the wall through which the group had disappeared through; a muttered charm activated the spelltroscope in his left eye. He squinted at the brilliant glare that revealed hidden security spells, green sparks crawling malevolently along the very distinct outline of a door, protecting the entrance and making it impenetrable to those not allowed. There were too many layers for Harry to remove on his own; well, he _could_ , but it would take too much time, time which he did not have.

 _I need a Booster at this location, Agent Malfoy._

 _One moment, Agent Potter._

Harry went back down the alley again, almost where it opened to the main road, and waited.

 _Come on, Malfoy, I haven't got all night._

 _It's almost on top of you, you daft man. Don't tell me you don't have the ultrasonic on. Oh, for fuck's sake._

Feeling a bit sheepish, Harry activated the ultra-ear and heard the distinct whistle of an approaching Booster. It sounded... huge.

 _Did you send the biggest one we had?!_

 _What the hell do you take me for? Of course I did._

Harry immediately pulled his wand and cast Protego over himself; he sent nearly all the nanobots out hurriedly, commanding them to drop their camouflage duty and swarm over his protective bubble, strengthening it. A small, silver ball, deceptively tiny for the amount of sound it was putting out to the ultra-ear, spun past him, headed intently towards the layer of malevolent spells; it struck the wall with a surprisingly muffled thump, embedding itself deeply. Harry pointed steadily at the ball gleaming in the dim light of the alley; the nanos obediently made a very little window so that his Confringo could sail out and strike the ball.

The Booster collected his already formidable magic and amplified it, sending it writhing between the layers of protective spells. Harry watched in satisfaction as the green lights seemed to shiver violently and the wall exploded when his boosted spell finally fought through and touched the surface of the wall. Chunks of wall struck his Protego with a terrible force; it and the nanos held stubbornly.

 _Well done, Malfoy,_ Harry sent dryly as he raced towards the ragged opening.

 _Just doing my job, Potter. And yes... I do have a date._

Harry grinned, shaking his head as he stepped carefully over rubble and went inside, his night-vision snapping into action.

* * *

Subduing any of the meagre human security personnel was quick and easy, Harry managed them without any problems.

 _It's the robots you have to watch out for,_ Ron's voice informed him over NEXUS, the secure MAGE system that was a complex combination of neuro-enhancers and a specialised version of Legilimens, which connected agents together mentally. _Although, they're not really a good match for a strong spell, aren't they?_

 _Do I yammer at you constantly when you're on field-duty, Ron?_ Harry peered around a corner down a long corridor and ducked as a barrage of bullets shot past him.

 _This isn't yammering. And I'm bored. I'm not used to being on support. I should be out there, saving the world from evil wizards intent on harnessing latent magic through the nanos--_

"Ron, shut up," Harry muttered aloud and spelled a small electromagnetic pulse down the hall. The robots, about six of them, recoiled as the pulse interfered with their internal computers, but Harry saw when they shook themselves out of it.

 _Try a stronger one,_ Ron suggested.

Harry placed all his strength behind the next attempt, and was pleased to see them crumple. He was about to say something smug, when a searing pain ripped through his chest.

 _Harry! I'm getting a critical alert from you, what's wrong?_

 _Oh, just this metal shaft that was plunged in me from behind_. Harry shuddered as the magical and mechanical systems in his body strained around the intrusion, trying to knit together again. A grinding sound emanated from the robot that now had him trapped, and the shaft twisted slowly. Harry gritted his teeth; he should have had his pain receptors shut down the last time he'd gone in for maintenance.

DAMAGE TO SECONDARY POWER SYSTEMS, the heads-up display in his right eye informed him primly. QUARANTINE IN PROGRESS. MAIN POWER AT 89%.

 _Wonderful_ , Malfoy cut in over Ron's spluttering. _Now, we--_

"Agent Potter," someone murmured behind him and Harry paused in his attempts to pull himself from the metal shaft. He was dragged around by the robot that had him impaled, to face a tall woman with large grey eyes and a shorn head. Her slender form was covered with a long, shimmering robe. "I thought I got rid of you the last time we met."

"Hello, Calliope," Harry said with a dangerous grin. "Like the new body?"

Calliope, who called herself the Priestess of the New Dawn, gave him a flat, unimpressed look. She was the leader of a cult of magical folk that charmed gullible young Muggles into joining their ranks, robbing them of their youthful energy to use as sustenance. Harry, who tried not to let his personal views interfere with his work, thought this was bloody disgusting, far worse than vampires. These witches and wizards kept the teenagers enthralled, and fed off them in the belief that their lifespan would be increased by this supply.

"I'll dispose of you for good," Calliope muttered, raising one hand and unfurling her long, thin fingers to reveal an almost transparent sphere, a bubble which contained tiny flickers of lightning within its iridescent boundary. Harry inhaled quickly; he knew what it was. It was a smaller version of the device used to safely contain his mind and magic, while other instruments worked diligently on the mechanical sections of his body, replacing and updating worn parts.

If she used that on him, it would only be able to hold a part, ripping out sections of his mind, his memories and his abilities. She would be able to take away all that information and destroy it, leaving him incomplete and useless. MAGE agents only trusted their team-mates to oversee body-modifications and upkeep, because their mindless bodies were completely vulnerable in such a state. He wouldn't even be able to transfer to a new body, for there would not be _enough_ information.

Calliope moved towards him quickly, and the robot behind Harry lifted him into the air. _Malfoy's almost there, Harry_ , Ron yelled at him frantically and Harry arched as Calliope pressed the sphere to the middle of his forehead.

This wasn't a controlled process, as it would have been if he was going through routine repairs, or even being placed in a temporary body while doing a full overhaul. He felt his mind being ripped apart in a mental tornado and an alert flashed across his vision in disturbed red letters: WARNING: FULL SYSTEMS MALFUNCTION.

"No shit," Harry muttered aloud and tried to kick at Calliope, but the robot behind him had placed restraints around his legs.

INITIALIZING MAGICAL SHIELD OVER ALL COMPONENTS.

Harry tried to twist away, but Calliope pressed the sphere even harder against his forehead, her teeth bared with the effort. He could hear the tiny crackles of the lightning in the sphere, digging unseen fingers into his mind and body. His brain seemed to lurch in his skull and he felt a trickle of blood escaping from one nostril, sliding past his lips in a sluggish stream.

MAGICAL SHIELD FAILURE. RE-ROUTING REMAINING MAGIC TO PROTECTED SECTORS. FULL AGENT SHUTDOWN IN 00:20. 00:19. 00:18. 00:17…

It was a failsafe, and a good one, but Harry really wished it had started full shutdown at a lower number so that more of his mind would be preserved. He'd have to suggest that to Hermione back at base; at least his magic was safe, locked away securely so that it would not fall into the wrong hands. In the meantime, he tried to hold onto his memories, but he kept forgetting why he needed to do this. The tiny nanobots that enhanced his brain were being subverted by that sphere, and all their attempts to reroute the functions of Harry's neurotransmitters were for naught.

He… was trying--

*

There was a tall robot standing over him, a gleaming sword clasped in one hand. The blade of the sword snapped and shivered, made of pure energy. The robot looked down at him and its face-panel slid to one side, revealing a dark cavity. A hologram of a face hovered there, that of a blond man with a narrow face and distressed grey eyes.

"Are you alright, Harry?"

"Harry? Who's that?"

The blond man stared down at him, blinking rapidly before the panel slid back into place.

Harry. Was Harry his name? He turned his head and saw a tall woman sitting against a wall in this strange corridor, her eyes staring blankly at him. A wound gaped in her chest and Harry (hopefully, that was indeed his name) turned to look at the robot that had obviously struck her dead.

"Who are you?" he asked and the mechanical form stepped over him and knelt near the dead woman. "Did you kill that lady? Why did you do that?"

"She was trying to murder my… colleague." The man who was controlling this robotic body sounded fairly calm as he reached out to pluck a really pretty, clear ball from the ground near the dead woman, but his fingers trembled. The bronze fingers curled once, and were steady when he tried again, picking up the sphere and handling it with great care. "She almost succeeded, but I think he'll be alright. We just have to get him to base immediately, get Granger to re-install his memory from this little ball."

"Who's Granger?"

"You'll find out soon." The robot held out a hand to him and Harry stared at its metallic surface sceptically. "You can trust me, Harry. I'll help you."

"What's your name?"

"Draco Malfoy, MAGE Level 6."

"What's a MAGE?"

This Draco Malfoy sighed heavily, the sound of it slightly tinny as it exited the auditory-output device on this mechanical body. "Just come with me. It'll be alright soon. And I suppose my date's all shot to shit, isn't it?"

"Did you have a date with your colleague?" Harry asked, placing his hand against the cold fingers and allowing himself to be hauled to his feet. "Are you going to go on a date dressed like _this_?"

"I was. It's all the rage, I'll have you know. I'm getting a stronger body built, and this is just a loaner, but it's _so_ cramped. And it doesn't control magic very well, only through this sword." Draco lifted the weapon and waggled it a bit. "Dramatic, but quite effective."

"Magic? Wow," Harry said excitedly, and then added, "It's a very nice sword," just to be polite. The face-panel slid back again, and the blond man grinned at him.

"You've always liked swords. Now come on. We'll get you patched up soon."

"Am I going to get a sword, too?"

Draco, who was helping him past a group of wailing, confused teenagers being herded by persons dressed in dark robes with the letters MAGE printed along one sleeve, stopped to look him in the eye again. "Harry. You can get any sword you want. I promise."

"Okay," Harry said docilely, and exited this dark building with Draco.

* * *

Harry groaned; his head felt like someone had tossed it into a blender, and his memories were a bit jumbled. He kept contemplating his days in Hogwarts as if they were yesterday and had argued with Hermione over some long-forgotten slight. His chest was still a little tender from the repairs, but at least all the records from the mission had been retrieved from Harry's memory and stored in the main MAGE archives.

"Hey," Draco said from the side of his bed, looking down at him with an indulgent smile. Harry blinked, adjusting his vision to note all the changes in his new body. As usual, Draco had opted for a hairline that hadn't receded, and his hair was far longer than it had ever been: a long bright braid that fell to his waist. Everything else looked just the same and for that, Harry was glad. In a world where complete change was just a few credits away, some regularity was comforting.

"Hey, there."

Draco reached out to brush a lock of dark hair from out of Harry's vision. "Granger managed to match your brain-waves with what we have on file, just to be sure. But she did well, you're doing fine. You owe me a date, by the way."

Harry caught his fingers and kissed them. They were a little cold, and still too soft, the feel of a new body, but Draco smelled just right. Harry opened his mouth to thank him and to inform him that he had no intention of missing their date again, (he'd go if he had to be wheeled out on a bed), when Hermione's voice blared over NEXUS, causing them both to wince.

"Harry! How do you feel? How are your stabilisers? I'm waiting on a few more nanos to give me a result on this--"

 _Hermione, turn yourself down!_ Ron yelled and there were other grumbles emanating from all over the MAGE network. Hermione had a really bad habit of locking herself into NEXUS in order to track information at a faster rate, and forgetting to come out of it when she was finished. Also, she tended to yell in excitement, and scatter everyone's thoughts.

"Oh! Sorry! Um, carry on. And welcome back, Agent Potter."

"I'm disconnecting for a bit, how about you?" Draco said in disgruntlement.

"Just don't lock me out," Harry murmured, tilting his head for a kiss. Draco gave him a quick smile.

"Never," he vowed, and bent to make use of his new lips.

 _fin_


End file.
